


Lost in Your Light

by Cyan (vehicroids)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Post-Series, Secret Santa, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, travelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 14:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13148715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vehicroids/pseuds/Cyan
Summary: It hadn't been long at all since they found the blue lion, since they were all forced into an unknown part of the universe. Shiro struggled to sleep, thinking on it all. Thankfully, he wouldn't be alone that night.





	Lost in Your Light

**Author's Note:**

> (It's tagged as post canon because half the story IS set after the events of Voltron.)
> 
> So! This is my [Shaladin Secret Santa](https://shaladinsecretsanta.tumblr.com) present for [ScratchChan](http://scratchchan.tumblr.com) on Tumblr! Honestly, I was stumped on the prompts. I had, like, 300 ideas, but they were either super long, or just really hard to execute. I went with the 'post-Voltron' plot, simply because I felt it was best. I hope you enjoy some cheesy fluff! ♥
> 
> (Title shamelessly stolen from a song by the same name by Dua Lipa.)

Only a few days had passed since they had discovered the blue lion, but it felt like an eternity. Then again, time was a very foreign concept to Shiro, now. He couldn't remember the last time he had a good night's sleep, opting instead to wander the castle at night. If he couldn't sleep, he may as well have done something useful with his time.

Without everyone else, the ship was large, empty, silent. Shiro wasn't a fan of silence, but he wasn't about to wake everyone for his own selfish needs. He found rhythm in his footsteps, the soft tapping helping to soothe him, even if just for a little while.

Shiro walked with no aim, though still managed to find the bridge. It was empty, but the familiarity of it made him feel a little better. The alien tech around him whirred softly, a quiet noise, but a noise nonetheless.

He stood by the window, watching the stars. It was strange; he had been in space for over a year now, and despite everything that happened, he was still amazed by it. The Galra had taken so much from him, but not his love of space. The positive memories of his childhood, of previous endeavours with the Garrison, somehow managed to remain intact.

He heard the door open behind him, and he turned to see Allura standing there. Her hair was down, still in her pyjamas, bags under her eyes. She looked precisely how he felt. He pressed his lips into a thin line, and Allura looked at him, before making a startled noise.

“Princess, you should be asleep,” he reminded her.

“As should you,” she said, with a hum of disapproval.

She approached him, now standing next to him, staring out the window with him. Her presence was nice, but it made him far too aware of the silence. Shiro glanced over at her, and noted her slouched shoulders, and her frown.

“Can't sleep?”

Allura shook her head. “I'm afraid not. I hope you don't mind my company.”

“No, it's less quiet with you around. I feel better, honestly.”

Allura relaxed a little. She moved away, closer to the window. Shiro couldn't imagine how she felt, or the burden that lay on her shoulders. Allura hid it well, but he could tell it was hurting her. She was one of the last two Alteans, waking up to having lost  _ everything _ . He could sympathise, to an extent, but he would never truly understand.

Shiro felt awkward in the silence that fell again. He considered bidding her a good night, and going back to his own room, but he couldn’t. He needed the company and, surely, Allura did too, or else she would have left. He wished he could have done more, but he didn’t know what to do, even if he could do anything.

Allura turned around again, an odd smile of her face. Shiro didn't know her well, but he knew her enough to know when she was trying to swallow her feelings. It concerned him, but he said nothing, at least for now.

“This is a little overdue, but...” She held her hands together. “Could you tell me more about Earth?”

Shiro was happy to share his memories and knowledge of Earth with her, but his concern did not ease. He didn’t doubt that she truly wanted to know more, but he also suspected Allura needed a distraction from her thoughts. He was more than happy to comply, though.

“Of course. Ask away.”

“Tell me, Shiro, what is your culture like?”

“Earth culture?” He asked, and she nodded. “Does Altea just have one culture?” He couldn’t comprehend a whole planet with just one culture.

Allura leaned her back against the window, holding her hands in front of her still. “Mostly, yes.”

Huh. Shiro wasn't exactly surprised; they had just one king for a whole planet. Still, it was odd to imagine a species just being the same throughout. He needed to remember, though, that not every species followed the same human code.

“Earth isn't like Altea,” Shiro started, “we have a lot of different cultures, depending on where you go. I don’t know everything, but I can tell you about my own culture?” he offered.

“Please do!” Her eyes lit up brightly.

He didn't know where to start, so he picked a point and branched off from there. Shiro wasn’t totally sure where he was going as he talked, but he carried on, and Allura smiled. She asked him questions that he answered to the best of his ability, but sometimes, all he could answer with was ‘I don’t know’.

Eventually, though, Shiro finally found where to go on his rambling train of thought. He explained everything he could think of about Earth. Shiro wasn't an expert, but he did his best. He explained world history, technological advancements - which must have seemed so primitive to her - and the planet itself.

Shiro told her about animals, ecosystems, environments. She explained that it was uncommon for other planets to be so diverse, though it happened. Altea, however, was not one of those planets. The way Allura spoke of her home made him wish he could see it, but he knew that was impossible.

Allura, though? She followed a similar, yet different, thought.

“You must show me Earth.” The suddenness caught Shiro off guard. “Once we have defeated Zarkon, I would like to go to Earth with you.”

Shiro paused. He wondered if that was even possible, if they would even make it out alive. He wanted to take her to Earth, though. Maybe this was just another thing worth fighting for, right? He gave her a small smile.

“Yeah. As soon as this is over, we can go to Earth together,” Shiro nodded.

“Is that a promise?” Allura watched him, arms folded over her chest.

He held his hand out to her with a soft smile. “It's a promise.”

Allura took his hand in hers and shook it with a nod. Shiro never broke promises, especially not promises made to a friend. The difficult part now was keeping to it.

\--

That promise was made a lifetime ago, but it was one Shiro never forgot about. With every fight, he thought, it drew him closer to fulfilling that promise. He never asked Allura about it after that night - he didn’t want to seem unsavoury - but kept it close to his heart regardless. He hoped she remembered. Maybe he was just silly.

Time passed, and finally,  _ finally _ , it was over. Team Voltron were free to do as they pleased, pursuing interests out of Voltron. And this meant it was time to make good on his promise, though he was nervous.

He had been putting off asking Allura about it, if she still remembered, if she still wanted to. Shiro had stared death in the face, yet somehow, talking to her about this scared him more than Zarkon himself. Shiro laughed at himself, realising how silly this all was. He was a grown man, not a teenager with a crush, and he could just talk to her.

He found her at the bridge, miraculously alone. Shiro didn't dare ask where the others were, knowing just thinking about them was enough to summon them. And really, as rude as it was, he really didn’t want to talk to them just yet. Allura turned around, and smiled warmly when she saw him. Shiro was an adult, he could do this, even if his heart was fluttering.

“Hey,” Shiro smiled back at her. “You…” Come on, Shiro, you can do it. “Do you remember the promise I made?”

Surprise flashed on Allura’s expression, before returning to normal. “Of course. You were going to take me to Earth. I was wondering how long it would take for you to remember,” she said, a little amused.

Shiro wanted to say it wasn't that he had forgotten, he was just putting it off. But then, he couldn’t explain why he was putting it off like some teenager. It was just easier to pretend he had forgotten.

“I could never forget,” Shiro said. “Do you still want to go?”

Allura's smile widened. “Yes, more than anything. I've been waiting to hold you to that promise.”

Shiro couldn’t wait, and nor could Allura. The preparations began straight away for their trip, and he honestly couldn’t remember being so happy in a long time.

\--

They could have travelled in numerous ways, as Shiro informed her, but Allura wanted to travel the human way. All they had was a backpack full of clothes for all types of weather, and whatever suitable paperwork they would need to travel. He had no idea where she got these things from, but sometimes, it was better not to ask. It felt sneaky, like he was on the run. Well, he sort of was; he didn’t want to be found by the Garrison, not with Allura. Though she looked human at the moment - which was weird to Shiro - they couldn’t take risks like that.

Their first stop was in some city in America, at Shiro’s request. He wanted to start somewhere recognisable, even if he didn’t know  _ exactly _ where they were. It gave them both somewhere new to explore together, without getting terribly lost. They wandered around, giving themselves a couple of days before their flight took them somewhere else entirely.

“So, this is a city on Earth?” she asked, looking over at Shiro, who nodded. “And every city in every country is different?” she hummed, as he nodded again. “I see.” She seemed a little underwhelmed, until Shiro saw her eyes sparkle with excitement as she looked over the tall buildings. He was relieved, honestly.

Allura asked to travel the human way, and thus part of the experience was sitting, waiting around a lot for transportation. Airports, bus stations, train stations… Shiro sure didn’t miss the slow transportation system of home. Allura, however, took it in her stride. She took this time to talk to people through her translator, making the most of this to learn about Earth. Shiro watched her filter from person to person, watched her laugh and joke and discuss with other humans. He couldn’t help but smile at her - she was so sweet.

When Allura saw her first bus, she called it quaint, a mild way of calling it  _ cramped _ . She probably hoped it would be bigger on the inside, as she looked nothing short of horrified when she realised she was going to be stuck between Shiro and the window for a good while. She looked like she craved death, and Shiro was perhaps a little too amused.

With each place they went, Shiro marked off another country on the map. It was a slow process, spanning weeks and months, and it only made him miss the lions. Then again, were they travelling by lion, they would have missed so much of the small nuances of the world, like the people, and much of the scenery. Though, there was some scenery Shiro would have been happy to miss, like endless deserts or long highways.

They travelled from Canada, then down to the Americas, where Allura really could see the cultural differences. They travelled through the unforgiving heat of the Australian outback, through the perhaps milder climate of New Zealand. Shiro had never really been out of America and Japan, and every country offered him something new. He realised just how lucky he was to have this experience, especially with a princess.

They quickly decided on a way to not lose each other in a crowd. That, of course, simply meant Allura started to hold his hand in crowded areas where they could easily lose each other. He squeezed her hand to assure both of them were still there as they walked; he knew very well she wanted to protect him as much as he wanted to protect her. When they did hold hands, however, Shiro swore a faint pink hit her cheeks, a vivid and alien colour she quickly needed to hide. It did not stop them from holding hands.

Shiro loved spending time with her, loved the memories they made together, even when they were still paladins. It was only when travelling through the rainforest that Shiro realised, shit, perhaps he had fallen in love with Allura. When he realised, he gasped sharply, swallowing a bug at the same time. He wasn’t sure what was worse - the bug, or the realisation.

He kept that secret closely guarded in his heart, but it was hard. Perhaps if he was slightly braver, he would have talked to her about it. Instead, he was bound to just dancing around it, waiting for a better time that may or may not even come. But there was one question that had nagged at the back of his head, ever since their promise was first made.

“Allura, why did you want to come to Earth with me?”

Her eyes widened for a moment, like he had asked her something deeply personal. “I wanted to know more about you.” Allura looked around, avoiding his gaze. “I can ask as many questions as I can, but I wanted to experience part of you, and I believed coming to Earth was the best way of doing so.”

“Me, or just humans in general?” This was inappropriate to ask, but he was so  _ desperate _ to know without simply spilling his own feelings.

“Well--” she spluttered, face going pink again. “Yes, the other paladins. But in particular, I wanted to know more about  _ you _ , Shiro.”

Shiro should have asked then what that meant, if it meant what he hoped it did. But she left before he could ask, and the moment passed, and then it simply didn't feel right to ask anymore. He wasn't sure if they were pretending that didn't happen, or simply refusing to acknowledge it. Either way, Shiro didn’t bring it up, almost certain it would have been a terrible idea.

Weeks passed since then. Late summer shifted to autumn, and autumn slowly turned to winter. The worst part was, the pair were approaching the colder countries, and boy was Shiro aware. He had bundled in thick jackets, though it seemed Allura didn’t seem to mind the cold so much. He wondered just how much of a difference between Altean and human physiology. No, wait, don’t ask. Some things were better left unanswered.

By the time they reached Northern Europe, winter had just about arrived. It was planned this way; Norway was one of the best places to see the northern lights. Shiro had never seen them in person, and Allura had never seen them in general. They thought this would have been a good experience to have together. And that was how the pair ended up in a place Shiro could barely pronounce, but Allura could pronounce like a native.

In this time of year, it was almost permanently dark, and it was nothing short of depressing. Coupled with the chill of winter air, this should have been enough to dampen anyone’s spirits. Except Shiro’s and Allura’s, who were almost like children with their excitement. Perhaps it was a little cheesy to travel here, but did Shiro care? Not really.

They left their heavy backpacks at the hostel they were staying at, and left for a walk. This almost felt like a date, almost, because it wasn't a date. He stuffed his gloved hands into his coat pockets, trying to keep warm, and Allura giggled, a little amused. It was at his expense, but her laugh was music to his ears. Steady now, Shiro.

Allura and Shiro walked close to each other, and though it was probably for warmth, his heart thudded in his chest. He was a mess, and he needed to just  _ tell _ her. And he wanted to, he did, but as they walked, a distraction came to save him. A relieved smile spread on his face, before looking at Allura.

“Allura, look.” He pointed up at the sky, where shimmering green lights danced along the inky backdrop of the night sky.

They had seen many things together, but still, nothing quite compared to the look of wonder on Allura’s face with each new discovery. Her eyes shined, lips slightly parted, as she drinked in the phenomenon. She burst into a wide smile, before glancing over at Shiro.

“They're beautiful,” she said wistfully, gaze flickering back to the light.

It felt like this was his moment, now or never. He sucked in his breath, before saying, “Not as pretty as you.” His face was already hidden in his scarf, already red from the cold.

Allura looked back up at him, trying to read his expression, but he knew she wouldn't see anything. Instead, she stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop walking. Their eyes locked, Allura’s eyes piercing into him.. Shiro was so soft, he was certain he was going to die. He was an idiot. Why did he think this was a good idea? Wait, no, that was just it; Shiro wasn’t thinking.

Allura brought her hands to her scarf, uncovering her own face, before reaching up to uncover Shiro's face. He didn't argue, too stunned to really do anything. Allura was gentle, slow, and she hesitated. It was so damn cold, but Shiro could no longer feel the cold against his too-hot being.

Shiro cupped her face in his gloved hand. It was dark, but even still, he was sure he saw her face flush. That could have just been the cold, though. Allura’s hands clung to his scarf, and he looked down at her lips, before looking back up into her eyes. They both knew what the other wanted, they both attempted to dare each other to go for it. Shiro wasn’t sure what was stopping him, other than nerves tying his stomach like a balloon animal.

Allura was the one to pull him in, gently tugging him by his scarf. She caught Shiro’s lips in her own, her kiss soft. Shiro was the one to pull away first. He wanted to kiss Allura more, desperately, but there was one thing he needed to clear up before anything.

He could have gone through a whole speech, how he had loved her since they broke onto that Galra ship and she sacrificed herself for him. He could have gone on and on about how her smile got him through through dark days. In the end, there were only three words that would suffice.

“I love you.” Shiro sucked in his breath. “I’ve loved you this whole time.”

Allura looked relieved, a weight thrown off her shoulder. “I love you too, Shiro. I’m truly glad you feel the same.”

They pulled their foreheads together, enjoying the closeness and the warmth of each other’s presence. Shiro knew he was lucky; lucky to have escaped the Galra, lucky to have been a paladin, and lucky to have someone like Allura in his life.


End file.
